Got Fruit Flies?

Here’s an easy fruit fly trap that really works. While we’d love your pest control business, getting rid of fruit flies does not require a professional.

Get rid of the source of the problem: overripe fruit.

Follow the steps in the video to make a fruit fly trap using 1/3 c. Apple Cider vinegar and a squirt of dish soap in a cup covered with plastic wrap. Punch a few holes in the plastic wrap so that once the flies enter the trap, they won’t escape.

BE PATIENT. Leave the fruit fly trap undisturbed until all the fruit flies are gone–overnight to two days.

When you have a pest problem you can’t handle, call Thrasher Termite & Pest Control.

At Thrasher Termite and Pest Control, we make homes healthy through effective pest control, termite inspections, and termite control. No gimmicks, no nonsense, and when we’re done, no pests. Satisfaction Guaranteed. We’re licensed, bonded and insured. Our family owned business has offices in Silicon Valley [408-354-9944] and in San Diego [619-955-5121].

Members of both the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Thrasher Termite & Pest Control is well recognized in the pest control industry. We are members in good standing of QualityPro, the mark of excellence in pest management. Janet Thrasher is a Santa Clara Valley District Director of PCOC and a member of the state insurance committee; Garrett Thrasher is San Diego District Treasurer and a Director of PCOC.

Watch this video to see what termites are doing inside the wood of your home. We took this video of drywood termites eating their way through the wood trim surrounding a window. The termites had cleaned out the wood to right below the trim paint. From a distance the wood trim looked fine…until we tapped it with a finger. The thin layer of paint and wood crumbled to reveal a very healthy and destructive drywood termite colony. (Sorry, there is no audio. The termites weren’t talking.)

At Thrasher Termite and Pest Control, we make homes healthy through effective pest control, termite inspections, and termite control. No gimmicks, no nonsense, and when we’re done, no pests. Satisfaction Guaranteed. We’re licensed, bonded and insured. Our family owned business has offices in Silicon Valley [408-354-9944] and in San Diego [619-955-5121].

Members of both the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Thrasher Termite & Pest Control is well recognized in the pest control industry. We are members in good standing of QualityPro, the mark of excellence in pest management. Janet Thrasher is a Santa Clara Valley District Director of PCOC and a member of the state insurance committee; Garrett Thrasher is San Diego District Treasurer and a Director of PCOC.

Text of Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Is residue left on surfaces after termite fumigation?

Read on for a full explanation of this commonly asked drywood termite fumigation question.

Sulfuryl fluoride is the gas used to fumigate for drywood termites, wood infesting beetles, and bed bugs. It is a gas, not a spray. As a gas, it does not leave behind surface pesticidal residue¹. Think of helium. After you pop a helium filled balloon, the gas dissipates and surfaces are unaffected. Rub the inside of the balloon and you’ll find it dry. Or, have you ever experienced a natural gas leak from an unlit kitchen burner? Once you turn off the gas and air out the fumes, it is safe to continue cooking without washing down the counters or dishware.

Q: How fast does the termite fumigant (sulfuryl fluoride) leave the house? What about boxes and cupboards?

A: The state of California has very strict regulations (the California Aeration Plan) about venting a structure after termite fumigation. (Yea!) In fact, these regulations supersede the aeration procedure labeling on the products used. These regulations protect workers and homeowners. When your home is declared safe for reentry, we mean it! Regarding boxes and cupboards, just as the fumigant quickly enters voids in walls, infiltrates boxes and cupboards, it exits all of these locations just as quickly once aeration begins.

This planter box makes a portion of the exterior wall inaccessible for a termite inspection. There may be termite, dry rot, or other damage to the wall structure, but the inspector cannot tell without removing the planter box.

The most important words in a termite report may be, “the […] area was inaccessible for inspection. An unknown further inspection is recommended.” Here’s why:

Have you ever purchased a piece of fruit with a tiny blemish? After you trim off the bad part, the rest of the fruit is often juicy and perfect; however, sometimes you’ll find critters crawling around the pit. In a termite report we’d call the pit an “inaccessible area.”

Just as with the fruit pit, the area an inspector cannot see is “inaccessible” and may be perfectly fine or it may be riddled with termites and damage. For example, inspectors cannot determine the condition of subfloors that are covered with insulation; the walls of a garage covered with built-in shelves or stacks of cardboard boxes; a deck that is too close to the ground to crawl underneath; or an attic with access blocked by a closet organizer.

Actions for Sellers Agents

Before the termite inspection, make sure that access points to the crawlspace and attic(s) are accessible. Ask your sellers to remove stored items from the garage or pull items 36” away from the walls of the garage and from the walls in any cluttered rooms. All doors, gates, and other access points must be unlocked.

After you receive the termite report, read it. Don’t just jump to the bid page—it is not a summary of the report! Be familiar with any areas that were inaccessible—these areas will be identified in the body of the report. Either complete the recommend preparations for inspection or have a response ready for potential buyers.

Actions for Buyers Agents

Read the report and pay close attention to any areas identified in the body of the report as inaccessible for inspection. These areas may or may not contain infestations or damage. Only you and your client can weigh the risk these areas pose.

Actions for Homeowners

Homeowners who are not involved in a real estate transaction should also pay close attention to any areas identified as inaccessible. If possible, make these areas accessible and request a further inspection.

Real Examples of Inaccessible Areas

In one house, the sub-floor under a bedroom was covered with insulation; because the inspector was unable determine the condition of the sub-floor, he recommended that the insulation be removed and the area inspected. Removing insulation is an expensive proposition so the buyer chose to ignore the recommendation, take the risk and purchase the home. A few months later, the new owner began remodeling the bedroom. Extensive termite damage was found.

Another house had an attic that was inaccessible because the sellers had painted over the access panel, sealing it shut. The buyers purchased the house as-is, knowing that the attic had not been inspected and knowing that the roof needed to be replaced. Once the roof was opened, the buyers asked for a further inspection. No damage or infestation was found and the roof was replaced (along with a new attic door).

Remember, only Superman has x-ray vision. A termite inspector can only report on what he sees.

This article originally appeared in Silicon Valley Realtor, June 2015

At Thrasher Termite and Pest Control, we make homes healthy through effective pest control, termite inspections, and termite control. No gimmicks, no nonsense, and when we’re done, no pests. Satisfaction Guaranteed. We’re licensed, bonded and insured. Our family owned business has offices in Silicon Valley [408-354-9944] and in San Diego [619-955-5121].

Members of both the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Thrasher Termite & Pest Control is well recognized in the pest control industry. We are members in good standing of QualityPro, the mark of excellence in pest management. Janet Thrasher is a Santa Clara Valley District Director of PCOC and a member of the state insurance committee; Garrett Thrasher is San Diego District Treasurer and a Director of PCOC.